Australia bans indoor gatherings of 100 as virus measure

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia on Wednesday banned non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people including weddings and restaurants as part a range of measures that could be maintained implemented for more than six months to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

“This is a once in 100-year type event,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters. “We are looking at a situation of at least six months for how we deal with this. It could be much longer than that. It could be shorter. That is unlikely, given the way we are seeing events unfold."

The indoor limit follows an earlier ban on outdoor gatherings exceeding 500.

Weddings and religious services are regarded as non-essential while health and emergency service facilities are exempt.

Disability and aged care centers are open but restricting visitors. Schools will also remain open, although some medical experts argue for their closure.

Australians have been advised not to travel overseas. Work restrictions on 20,000 foreign student nurses in Australia would be lifted so that they can bolster health resources battling the pandemic.

Australia by Wednesday had 454 confirmed infections among a population of 25 million, but the infection rate is gathering pace.

The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, for most people but can be severe in some cases, especially older adults and people with existing health problems. People with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may need six weeks to recover.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said most of the cases were Australians returning from overseas and community transmission in Australia remained “low-level at the moment.”

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